Out Of The Loop

The man who won the pandemic...

Will be taking a long weekend, so Happy New Year. 

Back on Monday. 

Publish The Myth

 

OK, what I was thinking of for the title is print the legend, but this and this. 

Also, too, Koppel and Milbank made some pretty large contributions to the creation of the mindset that prefers myth to reality (e.g., Town Hall, at least with Koppel). Just saying. 

Now no amount of reason will persuade, and we're getting to to point where out-voting them might not work either. 

Genuine Daft

Kind of light, too, and no taste whatsoever. 

Still On Holiday Hours

An extra rest day won't hurt. 

Hope you all had a great Christmas/Solstice. 

Back tomorrow, though I might be on a holiday schedule this week as well.

Cheers!

Echo Chamber

Signing off for the remainder of the week, but before I go, a reminder that the elite media's gone from Drudge ruling their world to Fox and the rest of the noise machine. 

Plus ça change...

Happy Holidays.

But Cokie's Law...

So, the supply chain crisis that threatened Christmas turned out to be exaggerated. 

What will the elite media reaction be? 

Cokie's Law? 

Or silence? 

Pretty sure it won't be any admission they were wrong, or, horrors, that the Biden administration had any positive effect...  

Asshole Is The Nicest Thing You Can Say About Him

The point was to be as ugly as possible. That's the wingnut way. 

And you can bet he and his fellow assholes at Fox or the Noise machine generally would be yelling the loudest about civility if they were on the receiving end...because they regularly do. 

If This Was Just About Imploding A Sensible Domestic Policy Proposal...

...it'd be one thing. 

But there's still an ongoing, critical, existential threat to what's left of popular sovereignty. 

You'd think that might count for something...and the crying about hurt feelings...

Christ, they've been kissing his ring since the new Congress and Administration were sworn in...

It wasn't enough?  

Hope It Was Worth It

To be honest, I don't think you'd see a Civil War sequel, but a descent into some sort of Hungarian style autocracy is certainly possible...and just me, but makes me wonder what role the military might play (ANY role would be, um, not good). 

Have a nice weekend. 

What Happens When You Heat Up The Planet?

Lots of things, and many aren't real good.  

Objective Journalism At Its Finest

If you wonder how a big lie gets accepted, wonder no more. 

Though, as always, only applies to GOP bullshit. 

It'll get justified as "their brand." 

Fuckers. 

"I Alone Can Fix Rig It"

 ... OK, with a little help from his friends...or if you prefer, his minions. 

And remember, DJT is on tape demanding the Georgia Secretary of State manufacture 11,780 votes. 

Can anyone imagine the shit-storm if a Democrat did this? 

The so called librul media isn't just not-librul. 

All of it --not just Fox Noise -- is a branch of the GOP. 

Early Detection Offers The Best Options For Treatment

I'm not singling out Rumsfeld (may he rot) for anything specific -- today -- but he's at least one poster child for how once The Big Lie is accepted as normal political discourse...

The arc of history is long and bends towards justice, but it can also be bent if there's not even an ethical (much less moral) compass, and especially if an allegedly independent check (aka the press) can't be bothered...

From Nixon to Reagan to Bush's Senior and Junior to the screeching hysterics over Clinton and Obama -- and now Biden -- it's hard to view the press as anything but complicit...in an overt attempt to squelch what's left of nominally small d democratic rule. 

But her emails. 

No link today...just an observation. 

Back tomorrow. 

A Reminder Of What Georgia Republicans Mean By Voter "Fraud"

Have a good weekend.  

Pay Attention To The Man In Front Of The Curtain

For what it's worth, the spontaneous riot on January 6th is starting to look a lot like an orchestrated event that was planned in the Oval Office and/or Willard Hotel. 

Which means, for what might be the first time ever, DJT was somewhat successful, at least in turning his brainwashed minions loose to wreak havoc. 

Can't wait for the media to turn this into bad news for the Biden Administration.

Gee, If Only There Was Some Institution Dedicated To Informing The Public...

As Paul Campos notes, the allegations of Democratic Party deviance skew pretty significantly from reality of the Democratic Party, except perhaps in the savvy minds of elites and elite journos. 

Oh, and it's also true that the Democratic Party is a lot less overtly racist than the GOP. Just saying...

But why report when you can gossip instead? 

Asymmetry

I think these two items demonstrate the degree of imbalance. 

On one hand, Racist Bannon, openly in contempt of Congress, won't even go to trial until next summer. 

On the other, what looks like a complete sham of a case from Trump Special Counsel John Durham has nonetheless become the de facto narrative, and worse still, was allowed to continue after Merrick Garland took over DOJ. 

Be fair, sure, but weakness doesn't get rewarded in our system. 

And the Democrats look...weak. 

Garbage In, Garbage Out

This one's not on Brian Williams personally, but what the hell, he's part of the Cult-of-the-Savvy that's gotten us here. 

And yeah, it's probably not going to end well. 

Florida Man

What Charles Pierce says. 

Have a good weekend. 

Oh, Blogger's not letting me load pictures. 

If it gets fixed, I'll add one.

Update: Only took, what, not quite 6 hours...

Figures

Assholes. 

Embryonic Journey

World's worst cover band. 

Aging, off-key, and flat. 

All the way from conception to fetus to birth. 

Then you're on your own. 

And if you're an adult woman or adolescent girl...too goddamn bad. 

Time To Pull This Out Again

Hasn't even collected much dust.

"Where Are The Republican Heroes?"

Nowhere. 

There never were any. 

Giving Thanks...

Small thanks, but it's something.

The president is that guy, and not the other guy. 

Out tomorrow and probably Friday, so have a good weekend. 

Cheers. 

PTO

 Taking tonight off, back tomorrow. 

What's The Harm In Indulging Him?

Nice the elite media is finally starting to notice.

Hopefully it's not too late, but...

And to paraphrase, because I don't feel like looking it up right now, and repeat, David Frum was correct about conservatives rejecting small d democracy. 

The Sturm und Drang over non-existent voter fraud (with two exceptions, one, small scale fraud by right-wing extremists and Trump's own tiny-hand-ham-fisted-attempts to bully at least one State and probably others), anyway, it distracted from any number of things. 

To cite a couple, Gerrymandering of Congressional Districts and flat out calls for rioting and violence.

They don't even pretend to care about winning elections. 

Fox Noise, its bastard spawns like OAN and One America, plus the rest of the noise machine, don't give a shit about rule of law or other niceties, like, oh, I don't know, press freedom. Might want to take that into consideration when insisting on both-sides framing. 

Once press freedom is gone, it's unlikely to come back. Just saying. 

And forget about finding any Republican Daddy heroes. The attempted rehabilitation of Creosote Chris Christie was and is pathetic. 

Time to decide where you stand...

Kevin McCarthy Says What He Really Thinks

And it's not all that different from what you'd hear from a lunatic ranting on a street corner or loitering at a bus stop. 

Eight hours worth. 

Have a good weekend. 

Things Fall Apart

What a generation of Reagan claptrap, multiplied by a press corpse [sic] way to willing to be sycophants in exchange for access, gets you. 

Sigh. 

You could tell them Adam Smith titled his book The Wealth of NATIONS...and they'd insist it's communist propaganda...

Media Rule #1: It's Always Good News For John McCain

And to the media, the GOP is still John McCain, even though it's really Paul Gosar, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell...or Orange Narcissus. 

Funny how you can count on coverage to, wow, what a coincidence, constantly emphasize GOP talking points. 

Makes you wonder who their sources are...

Sure, inflation's up -- to roughly Reagan era levels -- and I remember oil and gas prices rising during the Bush II administration without run-for-your-lives headlines. 

And...while I'm not expecting the media to become a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party, it'd be nice if they weren't marching in lockstep with Fox Noise, which is a propaganda arm of the Republican Party... and while I'm not at all a fan of John McCain, and am sort of doubtful he'd have gone full Liz Cheney, the fact is the GOP wasn't and isn't John McCain. It's Donald Trump, i.e., a toxic blend of hubris and fascism...which the media might want to take notice of, particularly given that fascists don't tend to have much use for an independent press.

And blaming the Biden Administration for not fixing the mess in all of not-quite-ten-months, while the GOP becomes more blatantly and outwardly authoritarian might be, well, a little much even in normal times...these aren't normal times. 

Just saying. 

He's Doing This Because He Wants To

As one of the big blogger's noted many times, Carlson has Fuck You money...

FFS, Put Him In Jail

It's really, really frustrating that a genuine dick like Bannon gets to play this, and it's pretty much the same with all of 'em (Trump himself, the Jan. 6th rioters, etc.).

Sure, don't turn into authoritarians in an effort to prevent authoritarianism, if the public sees defiant assholes versus a perception of weakness in the legal system (forever aided, abetted, and amplified by corporate media), I'm not all that sure which side they'll choose. 

And it also gives the impression that the legal system is, well, hiding something. Hell, I'm starting to wonder, given that it really shouldn't be that difficult. Bannon, et al, broke the fucking law...

How difficult is that to understand?

Friday News Dump

Since it's been a busy week, and I really don't have anything (Bannon got indicted, but Institutional DC's doing all it can to ensure he skates)...

Chris Christie wants to be the Republican Hero Brian Williams used to pine for repeatedly. 

[Derisive laughter].

Have a good weekend. 

Squawk Box

But what makes it much, much worse is that the alleged librul media accepts and amplifies pretty much anything the noise machine barks out. 

Thus, inflation, oh my!

Sucks. 

Meltdown

Definitely getting uglier out there. 

And when people want blood, they're rarely satisfied with anything less. 

Way to go, all those who insisted email management was the defining issue of 2016. 

Modern Mythology

Every damn day...

Not Quite Ready To Say The Silent Parts Out Loud

But they're getting closer. 

Change The Logo

And call it Cable Myth Network. 

Have a good weekend. 

Governor DeSantis Disapproves

Limited government? 

Hah. 

Anything I Missed By Not Watching Election Returns Last Night?

OK, I lied a little bit: didn't watch the inevitable cable TV talking head meltdown -- or the triumphant bellowing from wingnut cable -- but kept an eye on websites and saw the pixels on the screen if not the writing on the wall. 

Well, fuck it. 

Dems lost in Virginia, and New Jersey is closer than it should've been. 

In other words, it was excellent news for John McCain. 

I dunno, maybe this will spur Democrats to do something other than panic or blame the libs...or maybe it won't. My voting pattern won't change, and I never forget they're the lesser-of-evils. 

But goddamn, it'd be nice if one, they'd manage to push something through (thanks, SineManchin), and two, you can't rely on the idiot media to point out that the GOP is batshit insane, with or without DJT. Youngkin did everything short of promise a return to separate-but-equal, which, ahem is neither and is bullshit. The media called it clever and daring. So forget about the media. 

Forget about the segregationists as well. 

There are still more of the rest of us than there are of them. 

But you need to earn our votes. 

End of rant.

Bug Fuck Insane

Idiocy really is a bottomless pit. 

Otherwise, I might watch some election returns just out of a grim sense of duty, but there's at least one book on my list/shelf I should start reading...

"They Will Reject Democracy"

Yep. 

All herrenvolk, all the time, and from the top down.

To repeat something I've said before, I'm not a big fan of David Frum, but when he's right...

And let's not forget that a generation or more of the media failing and/or selling out, take your pick, has played quite a supporting role, culminating in the direct line you can trace from "but her emails" to "Let's go, Brandon." 

Hope it was worth the insider access...

Fair Warning...From 1959

And not by some tree hugging librul, either. 

By goddamned Edward Teller. 

“Whenever you burn conventional fuel,” Teller explained, “you create carbon dioxide. … Its presence in the atmosphere causes a greenhouse effect.” If the world kept using fossil fuels, the ice caps would begin to melt, raising sea levels. Eventually, “all the coastal cities would be covered,” he warned.

Have a good weekend.  

If Basket Of Deplorables Is Unacceptable...

How about if we call them sacks of shit? 

The Hill Cruz Chooses To Die On...

Nazi salutes.

No lie.   

The Past Is Not Even Past

We're still living it. 

Yeah, But...

Good that Rolling Stone published this, but can the rest of the media show at least a degree of the intensity that 'her emails' generated back in 2015-16? 

Would be nice if they also did similar diligence on DJT, generally speaking. It's not like there's a lack of evidence. There's a lack of decent reporting, though...

Contractual Obligation Post

OK, exaggerating a bit with the post title, but it's the weekend, I've still got chores and other stuff to do, so am recycling MTG Lite (as in not-all-there). 

Living proof of what happens when someone who, in a more normal time, would be babbling on a street corner or at a bus stop, manages land a seat in Congress (and I live in a State that elected Clay Higgins). 

Sigh.

Back on Monday...

It's Official

Bannon is contemptable. 

Beavis And Butthead Appear Before The Committee

It went pretty much as you'd expect. 

...And Less

Better than nothing at all  -- assuming this really does mean they're hashing out the details and that there's no more preening/trolling -- but I'll never understand the mind-set that's willing to risk descent into fascism over what I saw on Twitter referred to as a debate over whether federal spending will be $60 trillion dollars or $62 trillion. 

Oh, and the Pentagon got $10 billion dollars above and beyond what they requested this fiscal year. 

This isn't even Lite beer in a bottle. It's warm, flat Lite beer in a paper cup. 

Kiss The Ring

Guy worth more than $5 million dollars wants to make sure child care tax credits end for income above $60K. 

While you're at it, ditch the clean energy initiatives. 

And don't forget to kiss the ring...

I'll bet Sinemanchin's kissing someone's ring too...

Just An Honest Difference Of Opinion, Right?

When two sides to every story reaches its logical limit...

Have a good weekend.